Cilantro Ginger Crab Cakes with a creamy lemon butter sauce. One bite of these tender gluten free crab cakes and you’ll never settle for dry and boring again. Who would’ve known that homemade crab cakes could be so easy yet flavorful?!
There’s no better feeling that making a “fancy”, classic dish such as crab cakes at home. It’s like bringing the restaurant favorites into the kitchen and being able to recreate them with better-for-you ingredients. Plus it’s a fun way to switch things up from the typical, I mean it’s not everyday you get to enjoy homemade crab cakes!
And if you’re looking for another restaurant classic to make from scratch, check out my Vegetarian French Onion Soup. Sweet caramelized onion soup with toasty bread and broiled, melty cheese overtop is the perfect meal to make cozy at home.
Ingredients
Butter – Adds rich and salty flavor to the red onions while sauteeing and then in turn, the crab cakes.
Red Onion – I love the sweet bite of red onion once it’s cooked down with the butter.
Dry Sherry – Elevates the overall flavor of these crab cakes and pairs wonderfully with the ginger and cilantro. Feel free to sub with vegetable broth if needed.
Ginger – Fresh is best and adds such a fresh tang to the mix. To use ginger powder simply swap for 1/8 to 1/4 tsp.
Lemon – Once more, fresh is best, especially since you use the lemon zest as well. If needed, use lemon juice concentrate and leave out the zest.
Egg – Binds the crab cake mix together.
Cilantro – A pop of flavor that makes these crab cakes really stand out from your typical mix.
Cassava Flour – Helps these gluten free crab cakes hold shape and bake into tender cake forms. My go-to brand is Otto’s for high quality cassava flour. You can also substitute a 1:1 replacement Gluten Free flour as well!
Crab Meat – I used 1 lb of jumbo lump of crab meat and it was perfect. Look for fresh and high quality crab meat!
Vegetable Stock – Adds flavor to the lemon butter sauce and thins it out as well.
How to Bake Gluten-Free Crab Cakes
1. In a medium skillet, melt butter for crab cakes and cook chopped red onion until clear, ~2-3 minutes.
2. Remove from heat and add sherry and ginger to hot mixture, followed by lemon juice and zest. Move to a large mixing bowl and allow to cool to room temperature.
3. Once cool, add egg, chopped cilantro, cassava flour, and crab and combine gently. Let mixture sit for 20 minutes in the fridge.
4. Preheat oven to 425F and line a baking tray with parchment paper. While mixture is resting in fridge, get started on making your sauce.
5. Melt butter in small saucepan until milk solids start to brown. Stir in cassava flour and whisk for 1-2 minutes until well combined. Add dry sherry, lemon juice and zest, vegetable stock, salt, pepper.
6. Bring sauce to a boil, stirring as needed. Let sauce simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until sauce has thickened to desired consistency. Set aside and keep warm.
7. After 20 minutes, remove crab cake mixture from fridge and form 8-9 crab cakes (~⅓ cup) and arrange on the parchment lined baking tray. Coat the top of each crab cake with olive oil or preferred spray oil.
8. Bake for 20 minutes at 425F, or until tops of crab cakes are slightly browned. Serve warm with lemon sauce and enjoy!
Lemon Butter Sauce
While this baked crab cake recipe is flavorful enough as is, adding the lemon butter sauce overtop is the final wow factor. Creamy and buttery with fresh lemon flavor, this sauce is the perfect compliment to the crab cakes.
While I love this creamy lemon butter sauce as is, there are easy substituions you can make if needed for allergy and/or flavor preference!
- The butter can be swapped for dairy free butter, just make sure it’s salted.
- Instead of vegetable broth feel free to use chicken or another stock, whatever you have available.
- The dry sherry can subbed for another dry wine or for something non-alcoholic, sub for equal parts of red wine, white, apple cider, or balsamic vinegar.
- If you don’t have cassava flour, you can experiment with subbing for equal parts gluten free flour, or if not gluten free, wheat flour. I personally have not tested this so please comment below if you try!
How to Keep Crab Cakes From Falling Apart
Nobody wants their delicious and beautiful crab cake to suddenly fall apart with the slightest poke from a fork. It just ruins the moment!
I can reassure you that this healthy crab cake recipe is delicious and will not fall apart. They’ll stand strong and hold shape even as you slice into the tender layers of crab cake with lemon butter sauce. Mmmm I can imagine it now!
The few tricks I have for tender and sturdy crab cakes are super simple and easy to do. The first is to refrigerate your crab mix before baking. I know it can be easy to skip over this step but please do not! It helps the mixture soak up the excess moisture, thicken, and then hold shape during and after baking.
The second is to use flour to bind them together. Even if you don’t have the cassava flour for this recipe, please find another to use. Without a flour to bind with the egg and crab cake mixture, these would certainly fall apart. This recipe will work if you sub with equal parts of a gluten-free blend or a regular wheat flour if you aren’t gluten free.
What to Serve with Gluten Free Crab Cakes
There are so many ways to enjoy crab cakes and I love to make a fun side to enjoy alongside them. A few of my blog favorites that would pair well alongside these gluten free crab cakes include:
Kale and Quinoa Salad – The fresh and bright flavors of this apple, kale, and quinoa salad would pair wonderfully with these crab cakes. The salad has quick pickled apples and a creamy homemade salad dressing for a sweet yet tangy profile.
Tabouli Salad – Fresh yet hearty with crisp vegetables and warm grains, this Tabouli Salad would taste great alongside crab cakes. The lemon butter sauce would also be delicious drizzled overtop this salad!
Warm Roasted Garlic Potato Salad – As a more warming side, this roasted potato salad would be great for a cozy night in. The roasted vegetables and potatoes are tossed in a creamy garlic sauce that would pair very well with these cilantro ginger crab cakes. You could even sub that sauce for the lemon butter if you’d prefer.
If you try this recipe, please let me know by leaving a comment and rating in the boxes below! I always love to hear from you and it helps other people find this recipe when they search online for the BEST Cilantro Ginger Crab Cakes 🙂
Ingredients
Cilantro Ginger Crab Cakes
- 4 tbsp butter sub dairy-free if needed
- ⅓ cup red onion chopped fine
- ¼ cup dry sherry
- 2 tbsp fresh ginger peeled & chopped fine
- Juice from one lemon + zest ~⅛ cup
- 1 large egg beaten
- ½ cup fresh cilantro chopped
- ¼ cup cassava flour
- 1 lb jumbo lump crab meat
Lemon Butter Sauce
- 4 tbsp butter sub dairy-free if needed
- 1 tbsp cassava flour
- 1 cup vegetable stock
- Juice from one lemon + zest ~⅛ cup
- 2 tbsp dry sherry
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a medium skillet, melt butter for crab cakes and cook chopped red onion until clear, ~2-3 minutes.
- Remove from heat and add sherry and ginger to hot mixture, followed by lemon juice and zest. Move to a large mixing bowl and allow to cool to room temperature.
- Once cool, add egg, chopped cilantro, cassava flour, and crab and combine gently. Let mixture sit for 20 minutes in the fridge.
- Preheat oven to 425F and line a baking tray with parchment paper. While mixture is resting in fridge, get started on making your sauce.
- Melt butter in small saucepan until milk solids start to brown. Stir in cassava flour and whisk for 1-2 minutes until well combined. Add dry sherry, lemon juice and zest, vegetable stock, salt, pepper.
- Bring sauce to a boil, stirring as needed. Let sauce simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until sauce has thickened to desired consistency. Set aside and keep warm.
- After 20 minutes, remove crab cake mixture from fridge and form 8-9 crab cakes (~⅓ cup) and arrange on the parchment lined baking tray. Coat the top of each crab cake with olive oil or preferred spray oil.
- Bake for 20 minutes at 425F, or until tops of crab cakes are slightly browned. Serve warm with lemon sauce and enjoy!
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Wow…these are gorgeous! I really appreciate all the tips you include with your recipes.
So glad you find it helpful, Cassandra! Hope you can try these, they are my favorite way to make crab cakes!! – Casey 🙂
These crab cakes were absolutely amazing! They came out so moist and definitely did not fall apart, you were right! I loved the balance of sweet from the red onion and tart from the lemon, along with the slight zing from the ginger. And the cakes just look beautiful with the purple and green specks from the cilantro and onion. And that sauce – mmm mmm GOOD!
So glad you loved these crab cakes – they are one of my favorites and you described why so perfectly!!! 🙂
-Casey